Sometimes the only person you never have time for is yourself

I have had one of those weeks that starts off bad, only to get worse. I'm not telling you this by way of complaint, or to begin some long confessional -- I'm just happy to be telling you this because I survived it!! Now it is the weekend, and high time to break out the old Survival Kit:




You can see that all my guilty pleasures (apart from the cashmere) are mass-market. I consider that a good thing. It means that effective therapy is easy to come by. (And if you run out, you can always find more just a few blocks away.)

Do you have any odd self-soothing rituals?

This week got me thinking about the things I sometimes do to keep myself sane. Knitting is one of them. All of you out there know, I'm sure, how soothing it is to pick up those needles and work a few stitches. For me it's better than a good backrub (well, not all backrubs... but some). So is being on a boat. But when casting off isn't feasible, I can find solace in -- of all places -- the supermarket.

Now, I'm not talking about a dinky corner grocery (which has its advantages, don't get me wrong), I mean a HUGE, dwarfing airplane hangar-sized space filled with endless rows of brightly colored vegetables and food flown in from every corner of the world. Everyone I know finds food shopping a tedious, if not aggravating and time-consuming chore. So I guess that makes me an oddball. I love wandering around in the grocery. Pulling together ingredients for a meal... from the first sniff of a cluster of vine tomatoes to the rich color of fresh yellowfin tuna and the shelves and shelves of spices! As my little wire basket fills up, my mind empties of the day's problems. It sounds completely mad, I know, seeking solace in the aisles of a food store.

Then again, why not? It's also, conveniently, where the Haagen Dazs live.